Lakers Rumors & News Recap: When a Mascot Beats a Big Man

Yesterday, both Steve Nash and Steve Blake were ruled out of tonight’s home game against the Indiana Pacers. Neither Nash nor Blake participated in the team session of this morning’s shoot-around. Tonight will be the eighth consecutive game with Blake being absent due to an abdominal strain, which was not expected to be this serious of an injury.

Even worse, Dwight Howard let it slip that he had his worst day at shootaround today. How bad? He challenged the L.A. Kings mascot Bailey to a free throw shooting contest, and lost. Dwight Howard’s struggle at the free-throw line is something the organization and fans know well. He remains below the 50 percent mark this season. But to add insult to injury, Howard asked Bailey to play on the main court, and lost that contest too. Frustrated, Howard demanded a three-point competition. Bailey still made five three-pointers before Howard did, in a lion costume. Hopefully he does better tonight.

The Lakers will play the Indiana Pacers tonight, who have gotten off to a very poor start this season (6-8). Star forward and leading scorer from last season, Danny Granger has missed every game this season with a left knee injury and is expected to miss at least two more months. However, the Pacers were contenders last year in the playoff race and many of their players have returned. The Lakers come off their best performance of the year, earning their first road win of the season on Saturday against the Dallas Mavericks.